The 12 Kits of Occasions - January 2018

               

Welcome to the very first 12 Kits of Occasions for 2018! The January 'Snow Day' themed kit is courtesy of our hostess with the mostest, Jeanne Jachna, and is loaded to the brim with pretty patterns from Crate Paper, images/dies from Pretty Pink Posh, Right at Home, Poppy Stamps, MFT, Neat and Tangled and SO much more! Jeanne has truly outdone herself with this fabulous, and beautifully packaged, kit - the loveliest of sentiments and fantastic stamped images! Lots of cards here......but I have lots left over too. Surely the amazing projects from the talented 12 Kits team will inspire lots of oohing, aaahing and CASEing! Please hop around to see ALL of the projects ....AND those of our three esteemed Guests - Richard Breaks, Cathy Weber and Marcia Hill!
Many thanks for joining us today!

CAS(E) this Sketch #256

Happy Thursday and welcome to CTS #256 ..... a beautiful sketch designed by Chrissy. We hope that you'll have fun with this one - we cannot wait to see your fantastic creation(s)!
Lots of white, an ombre array of tiny hearts, my very favorite polka dots and a simple sentiment are sending hugs and kisses your way!
There's lots of a-mazing inspiration from the DT, so be sure to take a peek and then play along with us at CAS(E) this Sketch #256!
Hoping that you'll play along and add to the always fabulous CAS(E) this Sketch gallery!

Many thanks for joining me today!

P.S. - A warm welcome to Guest Designer, Jasleen!!

CAS(E) this Sketch #255

Happy Thursday and welcome to CTS #255 ..... a beautiful sketch designed by Donna Mikasa. We hope that you'll have fun with this one and WOW us with your beautiful creation(s)!
An abundance of color, courtesy of Papertrey Ink's Bitty Big: Green Parakeet collection, a petite, pearl-accented cake and a bit of black/white complete this celebratory card.
There's lots of a-mazing inspiration from the DT, so be sure to take a peek and then play along with us at CAS(E) this Sketch #255!
Many thanks for joining me today!!

Papertrey Ink January 2018 Release - Day 5

LIFE IS WHAT YOU BAKE IT +
 CONFETTI SENTIMENTS 

YAY! It's the fifth and final day of Paptertrey Ink's peeks at the NEW January release. Hopefully, you've seen a plethora of new stamps, dies, stencils and patterned papers that have you excited to create! All of the January release items will be available through Papertrey Ink tomorrow, January 15th, at 10 pm ET.

Today I am highlighting Betsy Veldman's 'Life Is What You Bake It' - an adorable baking themed stamp set with coordinating dies! And.....the fun sentiments add just the perfect finishing touch - great for so many occasions!

I could not resist the a-dorable little bowls that are part of the 'Life Is What You Bake It' set! The bowls come it two sizes and the dies cut a little opening,  allowing you to stack 'em up it you'd like..... such a great detail. Here I've combined a bit of Terracotta Tile, Simply Chartreuse and Honeynut with Bitty Big: Classic Kraft and Rustic Cream, allowing those cute little bowls win you over!  

Thanks so much for stopping by and helping to celebrate the January countdown! Be sure to check in on Amy, Betsy, Heather, Keeway, Laurie, Lizzie, Melissa, Stephanie, Wanda and Lexie over at the PTI BLOG to see their fabulous creations using these great new January Papertrey products. AND, please join Julie, Lizzie and Stephanie for the Facebook Live event tomorrow at 9 pm, just one hour prior to the Papertrey Ink release at 10 pm ET!

Papertrey Ink January 2018 Release - Day 4

birthday balloons collection: birthday balloons + birthday strings + birthday balloons stencils +never enough birthday 

Yes...... we are in the home stretch and you've seen almost all of the fabulous new January 2018 products from Papertrey Ink! There's lots of birthday celebration inspiration on view today as we present Heather Nichols' amazing Birthday Balloons collection (stamps, dies, stencils) AND, to coordinate ever so nicely, Never Enough: Birthday, designed by Dawn McVey.
All of the new stamp sets and products will be available to purchase on January 15th, 10PM ET, at Papertrey Ink.

Here's a pretty Aqua Mist and Soft Stone birthday/celebration card that would be great for almost any occasion. I've used the Brushed Off: Square die to create a mask, ink blended with Aqua Mist and then stamped over that mask with a sentiment from Birthday Strings. A soft blend of grays for the balloons, a bit of silver embossing and some fine metallic cord add the finishing touches.

Card #2 shows off just one of the Birthday Balloons stencils! Lots of rainbow colors......with soft gray strings and tiny, color-coordinating bows from the Good Tidings Kit. Oh, and just wait 'til you see the full display from Never Enough Birthday! SO many great sentiments and fonts that you can mix and match to your hearts content!

And, 'ya know those mad stenciling/masking/blending skills that many other stampers out there (hello PTI DT, Laura Bassen, Kristina Werner, Jennifer McGuire, etc.) display? This is an acquired skill, people! One that I have yet to master. But I do have a great time playing! SO - hip, hip, hooray...... here's to more colorful experimentation!

Thanks so much for stopping by and helping to celebrate the January countdown! Be sure to hop on over to the Papertrey Ink Blog to check in on Amy, Betsy, Heather, Keeway, Laurie, Lizzie, Melissa, Stephanie, Wanda and Lexie to see their fabulous creations using these great new January Papertrey products. You will surely be inspired!!

Have a wonderful day and I'll see you tomorrow!

Papertrey Ink January 2018 Release - Day 3

Lucky Scratch + 

Lucky Scratch:Prize Pack + Lucky Scratch: Baby + Lucky Scratch: Love + Lucky Scratch: Wedding

Yay..... it's Day 3 of Papertrey Ink's January 2018 release and I have much more to share with you! Lizzie Jones has designed the fabulous new Lucky Scratch stamps and dies.... SO many options and such an amazing concept! Lucky Scratch, its coordinating die collection, and Lucky Scratch: Prize Pack work together to allow you to create customized, scratch-able elements for your projects. PLUS there are even more sets in this collection to cover baby, love, and wedding! And, as you can see, this Lucky Scratch ensemble works well with or without the scratch-able elements.

All of the new stamp sets and products that I am sharing today will be available to purchase on January 15th, 10PM ET, at Papertrey Ink.

Lots of pretty greens (Green Parakeet, New Leaf and Pinefeather) using the new Stencil Basics: Diamonds and the lovely 'Lucky' die from the new Lucky Scratch die set!

This Smokey Shadow/Pure Poppy combination allows the sentiments from Lucky Scratch: LOVE to take center stage. The Mix & Mat: Scalloped die and heart from 'You Have My Heart' die set provide supporting roles! 

Thanks so much for stopping by and helping to celebrate the January countdown! Be sure to hop on over to the Papertrey Ink Blog to check in on Amy, Betsy, Heather, Keeway, Laurie, Lizzie, Melissa, Stephanie, Wanda and Lexie to see their fabulous creations using these great new January Papertrey products. You will surely be inspired!!

Have a wonderful day and I'll see you tomorrow!

Papertrey Ink December 2018 Release - Day 2

Warm Regards + Ways to Say: Missing You

Happy Thursday and welcome to Papertrey Ink's January Release - Day 2! There are SO many more amazing new Papertrey goodies to sneak peek, including Lizzie Jones' beautiful Warm Regards stamps and dies, Ways to Say: Missing You stamps/sentiment die from Heather Nichols, the newest in the Keep It Simple series  'So Sorry' AND two NEW amazing designs from Betsy Veldman - Brushed Birds and Year of Psalms: January.

All of the new stamp sets and products will be available to purchase on January 15th, 10PM ET, at Papertrey Ink.

I have the pleasure of introducing 'Warm Regards', a beautifully designed stamps/coordinating dies from the fabulous Lizzie! My first project includes the pretty little florals from Warm Regards, a bit of greenery from the Good Tidings Kit, an extra little dotted frame around the sentiment from Mix & Mat: Flourishes and the lovely 'Enjoy', one of two die cut sentiments included in the new Hinged Gift Card Box die set.

Oh, how I love this Amethyst Allure/Summer Sunshine combination!  Although I've used patterns from the Amethyst Allure + White Basics paper pack (discontinued) for this project, there's more lavender loveliness coming to you by way of another new Bitty Big color: Amethyst Allure! Yay for  the color purple.....everyone needs more of this happy color in their life!

Card #2 showcases the elegant florals from Warm Regards, albeit a very bold and bright version of these pretty dogwood blossoms! A fantastic, scallop-y frame from the new Mix & Mat: Confetti and some beautiful patterns from another new Bitty Big color, Green Parakeet, complete the look.

The Warm Regards stamp set includes not only some very beautiful florals, but also some of the most perfect fonts and a fantastic variety of sentiments to cover gratitude, sympathy, congratulations and more, giving you an array of options.

For my final project, I've created a few bands of color by masking/blending Sweet Blush and then stamping the smaller, solid flowers in Hibiscus Burst and Raspberry Fizz.  And.... a bit of pop and contrast from the Bitty Big: Pure Black striped pattern, the new Ways to Say: Missing You die, a few faceted black jewels and a snippet of b/w twine.

Thanks so much for stopping by and helping to celebrate the January countdown! Be sure to hop on over to the Papertrey Ink Blog to check in on Amy, Betsy, Heather, Keeway, Laurie, Lizzie, Melissa, Stephanie, and Wanda to see their fabulous creations using these great new January Papertrey products. You will surely be inspired!!

Have a wonderful day and I'll see you tomorrow!

Papertrey Ink January 2018 Release - Day 1

Fiesta Flag birthday + Fiesta flag Birthday die 

Stencil Basics: Diamonds + Quoted:Friendship

Good morning and welcome to Papertrey Ink's January release- Day 1! Oh.... SO much to show you, and just wait until you see what the rest of the amazing Papertrey Ink team has created!
Today I have the pleasure of introducing Lexi Daly's beautifully designed Fiesta Flag Birthday ensemble (stamps, dies and the most incredible Fiesta Flag Birthday Flag!), Stencil Basics: Diamonds from Dawn McVey and the newest in the 'Quoted' series, Quoted: Friendship, designed by Nichole Heady.

All of the new stamp sets and products that I am sharing today will be available to purchase on January 15th at 10PM ET, on the Papertrey Ink website.

I've created a shaker card with lots of Hawaiian Shores, the amazingly intricate (cuts so beautifully!) Fiesta Flag Birthday Flag die, some pretty little pearls, a bit of sparkle-y silver and the stamped and clear embossed Stencils Basics: Diamonds as my background. 

Just a few layers of Bitty Big: Classic Kraft and the lovely Farmer's Market Florals helped to fashion this pretty Quoted: Friendship card. Lots of 'natural' hues in this combination (Classic Kraft, Simply Chartreuse, Summer Sunrise) and love that the Quoted: Friendship lines are separate and can be stamped in various colors!

Thank you so much for joining me today! Be sure to check out today's introductory post over on the Papertrey Ink blog and then check in on Betsy, Heather, Keeway, Laurie, Lizzie, Melissa, Stephanie, Wanda and Lexi to see how they've used these great new products. Have a wonderful day and I'll see you tomorrow!

CAS(E) this Sketch #253

Welcome to CAS(E) this Sketch #253 AND another of our throw-back/'Retro' Sketches.... a timeless design by N@Ali. See the original from January 2015 here! You'll surely find lots of inspiration from both 2015 AND 2018, so please play along!

The petite, persimmon-colored Papertrey Ink florals, lots of white and a POP of black helped to create this card. Clean a simple all the way.

There are many wonderfully designed creations from the DT, so be sure to take a peek and then join in at CAS(E) this Sketch #253!

Wishing you a joyous (and creative) 2018!
P.S. - a HUGE, happy welcome to our newest CTS teammate, Brian King!!

And..... the 2015 version:

Fusion Card Challenge - 'Mail Call'

Welcome to the very first Fusion Card Challenge of 2018 .... a special 4th Anniversary edition! Please enjoy amazing/additional inspiration for this 'Mail Call' themed challenge, courtesy of an abundance of very special guest designers! My friend, Karen Walker, stamper/photographer extraordinaire, is joining in as my guest!
Both the lovely photo and the fabulous sketch  have helped to create this card, with a beautiful aqua/gray combination, a few lovely dies from Papertrey Ink and Concord & 9th and my favorite polka dot embossing.
LOTS of inspiration from the DT and guest designers SO, be sure to HOP on over and join the party!
When playing along you may use the sketch OR the photo as you jumping off point. OR, fuse 'em together!

We hope that you'll join in at the Fusion Card Challenge and will enjoy all of the loveliness from the DT and the always amazing gallery!

Becca Cruger
Betty J
Carol Mayne
Jeanne Jachna
Karren Johnson
Linda Callahan
Lyndal Higgins 

Michelle Lupton
Michelle Williams

PROCEDURES:

1. Play with just the sketch challenge.
2. Play with just the inspiration photo challenge.
3. Or you can create FUSION by combining BOTH challenges into one card.
4. Use the challenge graphic and link back to Fusion in your post.